Starship Alaska
by only-the-sassiest
Summary: Futuristic Human!AU. Oswin leaves her anxious single father for a well-paid job onboard the Starship Alaska, where she encounters the Doctor, a clever orphaned man who dresses like a Victorian bachelor. The Alaska is headed to the still untitled Dalek planet, but the ship is promptly taken by a gravity beam to the Dalek Asylum.
1. Chin Boy & Soufflé Girl

"_Junior_ Entertainment Manager? Why not Senior for my Oswin?" Dave Oswald asked his fiery little daughter, and she shook her head. "Dad, you know I prefer children to those pretentious university students with enough dosh to drown a penguin," she told him with a mischievous smile. "Anyway," she continued, "I get sixty-five thousand a year; you shouldn't worry about me. Don't ever worry about me, Dad." He smiled apologetically as she pressed a kiss to his creased forehead and brushed a hand through his silvering hair. "I won't," he promised her. "Well, I'll definitely try not to." They both laughed. "I just can't believe it. My little Oswin-" he began, and she punched him lightly in the arm at 'little'. "My Oswin," he corrected himself with a grin, "selected out of four thousand applicants for either job. My clever little- I mean, my clever Oswin." The petite brunette beamed, and commenced packing for a four year trip to the still untitled Dalek planet. _Hurry up, now, Oswin,_ she thought to herself. _The Starship Alaska waits for no one_.

Before they knew it, she was waving her father goodbye at the launching base and stepping into a cool, yellow-lit room with crimson furnishings and many, many sets of the latest gadgets and gear. Oswin took it all in with a grin lighting up her pretty face, and took a step back to admire it all – and stepped onto the Italian leather shoe of the man behind her. She quickly slid her foot off his, only to roll her ankle and started to fall. The small brunette flailed around before giving up to gravity, but he caught her easily around the waist with a smile. She thanked God in her head that she hadn't spilled her iced coffee. "Careful, love," he murmured, looking straight into her wide honey brown eyes, like he was searching for something in them. He was looking for hope. Her breath came in shallow, feathery light gasps as he inspected her with an appreciative gaze; he was happy just to see her. Oswin looked back up at him in curiosity, tilting her head to one side.

Her saviour was dressed like the guy from Mary Poppins. Head-to-toe covered in tweed, blue button-up shirt, deep red suspenders and a matching... bowtie? _Who wears _bowties_ anymore?_ she wondered to herself. Oswin giggled, and tapped the side of his face absent-mindedly, as if to check if he was real. He looked at her strangely, but made no protest as she straightened his bowtie from her position in his arms. "Bowties are _cool_," he told her, and she smiled again as he finally pulled her to standing position. "Well," she said, dusting off her funky red asymmetrical dress and offering her hand, "I'm Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Or, I will be anyway. 'S what I'm here for. It was that or be a pastry chef..." He beamed at her, taking her outstretched hand in both of his and lowering a kiss to it, not taking his eyes off hers. She found him to be quite – creepy, in all honesty - but her heartbeat still quickened with excitement for some reason. Oswin felt like she'd just met with her purpose in life, which happened to be quite an accurate description. "Pastry chef, eh? That's quite different from playing nanny," he told her somewhat cheekily, and she gasped in mock offense. "I happen to just really enjoy making soufflés, thank you," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I'm the Doctor, Senior Entertainment Manager. We'll be living in the same part of the ship, how exciting! Lovely to meet you, Oswin. Nice name, by the way. You should definitely keep it," he told her in a flurry, and she nearly laughed at him again. So excited and ready for anything; he was a bouncing little boy in clever man's body. _He would have to be clever if he's my colleague on this ship_, she concluded sharply. _Starship Alaska only takes the best_.

"Doctor who?" she asked him, expecting a prim and proper set of names to follow. He shook his head. "Just the Doctor. I don't remember what my name was," he told her, not without a hint of sadness. "I lost my parents when I was a kid."

Oswin's eyes fell; she didn't expect that to make her so sad. She'd lost her own mother when she was sixteen.

"And... you appear to be matching the furniture. Did you do that on purpose? How intriguing!"

She could only stare back at him.

"We should probably board the ship now," he told her, waving the boarding ticket. She dropped her hand out of his, and he found his hand felt rather empty without hers – like her hand was a part of his, even though they'd just met. "Yeah, we probably should," she agreed, and tried to seem forward and businesslike, but she couldn't help but notice that she felt empty as well. He opened his mouth to say something - but she would never know, as she hurried off to greet the captain and board the _Alaska_.


	2. In A Severe Case Of Flirting

**_A/N: Lots of character development in this one._**

"Oswin, wait! Oswin!" the Doctor yelled after her, weaving and dodging between scientists, doctors, nurses, children, grandparents and an assortment of other young professionals in the massive hall space. He didn't care for the judgmental looks he was receiving for his attitude and choice of attire, and finally managed to snatch her thin wrist. She whipped around in shock, and he smiled. "There's such a thing as being too keen, you know," she whispered to him with a cheeky grin, and he loosened his possessive grip on her wrist.

The medical inspections started, and people waited in large lines within their chosen groups. Oswin was standing alone, which drove the Doctor to ask her, "Would you like to join me and my friends? It's just – it'll be a long wait, and you're all by yourself..." She grinned. "We were only just getting acquainted, now I'm meeting your nearest and dearest? Down boy," she quipped without missing a beat, and he beamed.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"I don't know, I have an _awful lot_ of friends waiting on me."

"Oh. Sorry, I'll be off then..."

"I was being _facetious_, Chin Boy. Of course I'll go with you guys."

"Wonderful! Wait, _what_ did you call me?"

"Careful dear – you'll take someone's eye out with that chin."

He huffed in mock indignation, but offered his arm anyway. Oswin took it gratefully, the contact making her feel much more comfortable and much less alone and judged for being so. People started to smile at them more acceptingly, almost as if to mentally forgive the Doctor's rash actions from before. The old couple in front of the two social workers smiled. "I remember being young and in love, don't you, dear?" the old lady said, patting her husband's shoulder. He grinned back at her. "Do I ever. What about you two? How long have you been married?" he asked of them, and Oswin snatched her arm from his with alarm. "Oh no, sir," she assured the man, "we've only just met today. Definitely not together. Or married, for that matter." The woman laughed knowingly. "Of course," the couple said in synchronisation, and left to get their vaccinations and check ups, as another, younger couple approached them.

"Ah! Guys, meet Oswin Oswald, the new Junior Entertainment Manager. She has an extensive vocabulary, hates morning traffic, dislikes hot things, and seems to be rather fond of the colour red. Oswin, these are my long-time friends and colleagues, Amelia and Rory Pon- Williams, sorry, commencing work in News; head journalist and head defence force representative. They're married," the Doctor informed them all, and Oswin shot him a strange look at the detailed introduction of herself. "Who are you, _Sherlock Holmes_?" she stage whispered to him. It had been a long time since she'd met someone just as observant as she, and the tall, striking redhead he'd introduced as Amelia laughed heartily. "Close enough," Amelia shrieked far too loudly between laughs, and her husband shushed her gently as they all received some harsh stares from the people around them. A baby started to cry.

"Hi Oswin, I'm Rory, representing the _Alaska_'s defence force" he said politely, shaking Oswin's hand with a firm grip. "And yes, this is my wife Amelia. As we are now all _terribly aware_." The redhead frowned upon seeing his meaningful look, and said "Call me Amy, everyone does. Well, except those two. God, they have no concept of nicknames." Oswin picked up the Scottish accent, and smiled somewhat stiffly, the awkwardness palpable. They left as a group to get inspected.

After the medical procedures had been completed and the ship took off, they all called for a drink and sat down in the café for a chat. The Starship Alaska was travelling to the yet untitled Dalek planet for research, aiming to land within two weeks, with the help of turbo engines and state-of-the-art technology. Its inhabitants were mainly rich families looking for an interesting holiday that was bound to brighten up their busy Facebook walls, Twitter feeds and Instagram profiles. There were a good number of scientists looking to investigate the advanced civilisation, doctors and nurses to care for those onboard, engineers to help maintain the ship, and last of all social workers like the Doctor and Oswin – to keep everyone happy and safe. Everyone was planning on milling around, checking out the restaurants, sports facilities and spas on the two weeks they had before landing, so they had to make sure everyone did so safely.

"So Rory – you mentioned you were the representative of our defence force. Are you a veteran of sorts?" Oswin asked him, trying desperately to break the ice. The Doctor smiled into his English Breakfast tea at her efforts. "No," he told her honestly, "I'm just the informant. I tell people what's happening in regards to the military and the police force, when it's happening." Amy picked up on the conversation, and added "I'll be writing up mass texts of the latest gossip, news, beauty & fashion trends, everything really. I love trends - make sure you give me a shout if you feel like starting one."

Oswin tilted her head to the side and quirked an eyebrow. "Sorry," Amy said into her chai latte, "it's just – you seem like a trendsetter." She nodded at the small woman's bright red dress. People of this time strayed away from rich colours, tending to opt for pastel or neutral tones. "Oh," Oswin said softly, blushing furiously at her very outward expression through clothing. She'd never really thought of herself that way – she just bought and wore what she thought was pretty, although if she liked it, it was usually obscure and one-of-a-kind. Another awkward silence fell between them. "So..." Amy started expectantly, "how did you meet the Doctor? And what did you think of him? Quite dashing, I suppose?" This earned her a playful nudge from her husband, and Oswin laughed at his silent response. "Well, I was just walking around, you know, taking in the view, and I... I stepped on this man's foot," she told the couple, clapping the Doctor's knee lightly with the palm of her hand. He smiled a little at her contact, and she hastily retracted her hand. "Actually," the Doctor began, "she started to fall over, so I caught her. Names were exchanged and I discovered the I am to be her supervisor. As the Senior Manager." Oswin threw her head back indignantly at his note of smugness, and retorted, "Oi! We're _equal partners_. You're just making sure I don't screw up. And for the record, you're Senior _Entertainment_ Manager, you do not run this ship."

Rory whistled into his double espresso, and Amy sat back with a grin. "I like her," Amy told the Doctor. "She's definitely got a sense of sass," Rory agreed. "She'll do well with the teenagers. Speaking of teenagers-"

"-Angie and Artie," Amy finished for him, "they're my... _charming_... niece and nephew. I hope they treat you well."

Oswin noted the last sentence with slight alarm, and tried to hide her worried expression in her glass of strawberry/watermelon juice. _Why am I so anxious about this _job? she asked herself. _I'm a perfectly capable carer, with a Working With Children's check. Nothing to worry about_. The Doctor put his hand over hers, and assured her, "They're nothing to worry about. I'm sure you're excellent with kids." She smiled back at him weakly, not yet realising that his hand was on his. Amy raised an eyebrow at the contact. "_Somebody_'s getting comfortable," she said, and smirked into her latte. The Doctor snatched his hand away abruptly. "I – you just – shut up," he squeaked, bottom lip starting to poke out slightly. "Not denying it, I hope, Chin Boy?" Oswin teased, and he blinked five times in quick succession. "My mum always told me to blink away the bad spirits in a severe case of _flirting_," he teased back, and the small woman punched him in the arm playfully. "I am not flirting," she asserted, and he stuck his tongue out at her. "I am just loving this exchange," Amy said to Rory, and the other two froze. "Nah," the defence representative said calmly, "I reckon she's just really good with male company." Oswin grinned sheepishly. "Huh," she said to them, "I had a first love named Rory. Actually, her name was Nina. I was going through a phase." The Doctor raised his eyebrows amusedly. "Never picked you as the pansexual type," he replied, and Amy kicked him under the table. "Sorry he's such a _prude_," she told Oswin, shooting the Doctor a heavy look, "he grew up among some seriously uptight nuns. And Doctor, you do _not_ have to be pansexual to experiment every now and then! We were all bi-curious at that age." Rory laughed. "Or you two were, at least," he quipped lightly.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of choking, a body hitting the ground, and several screams.


	3. A Curious Attachment (And A Few Worries)

**_A/N: People are planning to live on the Alaska once it lands. Enjoy this one :)_**

* * *

"Rose! Rose darling, can you hear me? Please say something, open your eyes! Rose!" a tall, swarthy man cried to the blonde lying still on the floor, cradling her head in his muscled arms. The Doctor, Oswin, Amy and Rory made their way hurriedly over to the adult couple. "It's okay, I'm a doctor," the Doctor said to them, and started applying the Heimlich manoeuvre to the woman on the floor. Oswin mentally smacked herself. _Of course he's a doctor_, she thought. Rory whipped out smelling salts and waved them under Rose's nose, and she spluttered violently. "I'm a nurse," he explained to her. "She'll be right," the Doctor said to the bronze-skinned man who was now breathing deeply with a tight business smile. Oswin could only watch with her doe eyes as round as saucers. "Thank you _so much_ – I'm Mickey," the man said breathlessly, and offered his hand. Introductions were given, and Amy rubbed the backs of Oswin's arms comfortingly. The petite brunette didn't like watching people get hurt or otherwise injured; not after what happened to her little brother and her mum.

They were taken three months apart, by what is still unknown, but they were found in the same position on the same street outside the Oswald home, bleeding from the mouth, eyes, and abdomen, although no wound marks were found, and no toxin found in their veins. Electric signals, however, were detected within both the bodies. It was concluded that they were both struck by lightning in a freak accident of nature.

The three friends, a newly arisen and grateful Rose, and the man Mickey, seemed to understand, and guided her back to her appointed living quarters and into her bedroom, which was next to the Doctor's. "I'll take it from here, guys," the tweed-sporting man assured them, and they nodded and left.

"Are you alright, Oswin?" the Doctor asked, trying to see through the curtain of hair that concealed her pretty – and now crying – face. "She's alright now, if that's what you're... Not what you're worried about then?" he corrected once he saw the resentful look in her eyes. _Those tear-filled, glowing, chocolate eyes_...

She swiped at her eyes angrily, like they weren't meant to be there. "Some random has a coughing fit, and I... All I do is just _stand there_, while you two are off saving 'em... What if a child has an _epileptic seizure_ onboard? Will I just stand there?" she shrieked, more to herself than anyone else. "Hey, hey," the Doctor soothed her, taking her hands to stop them from doing any more damage to her under eye area, "you'll treat them appropriately, I _know_ you will. You'll be fantastic – and so will I." He smirked on the last note, and the smugness was enough to make Oswin roll her eyes at him.

The second week before work began passed far too quickly for anyone's preferences. Oswin found best friends in Amy and Rose – the three of them were quickly inseparable. Rose was married to Mickey; they both worked in the _Alaska_'s culinary industry as chefs, Mickey being head chef, with rather an eye for presentation. Oswin found herself rather popular, most of the women her age taking a liking to her sassy, no-nonsense, I'll-say-what's-on-my-mind attitude, and assured her that she would make quick work of any misbehaving children. That's not to say that she wouldn't dote on them, as they all discovered when she met Rose and Mickey's baby boy David, all spikey hair and big brown eyes. The Doctor also formed a curious attachment to him; he hadn't known the couple had a son despite having worked on the _Alaska_'s sister ship _Virginia_ with them.

Before they knew it, the captain was declaring a safe landing in a soothing southern Irish accent. Until the ship was violently thrown sideways, where it sped haphazardly towards a dusty grey planet in a beam of blinding blue light.


	4. We Never Run Out, On Those We Care About

Oswin's POV

"_Doctor_!" I screamed, groping about blindly in the light until I found a tweed-covered arm and a bowtie-clad neck. "Oswin..." he murmured sadly. _Why is he so sad_?I wondered to myself, and recalled a quote from my favourite childhood book, Peter Pan.

_To die would be an awfully big adventure_.

Such a big adventure. Too big even for me. But maybe it was time to see if mother's soufflés are any better.

It wasn't, as the ship smacked into snow-covered ground, sliding for a good few hundred metres before it grinded to a stop. We didn't move, and I clung to the lapels of his tweed in a way I've never clung to anyone before. He started to smile as he pulled us up. "Okay, Chin Boy," I started, the sass starting to return to me, "I've picked up by now that you're a bit of a loopy, but what are you smiling about?"

He laughed, a hint of joy in his voice. "Well firstly, Oswin my dear, it's snowing. If that's not a reason to smile, I don't know what is. Second of all – _we're alive_! Hurrah!"

I blinked.

"And finally..." he began slowly, "it's a new planet."

His voice had decreased to a whisper. He was going to do something stupid or very, very, clever; I could see it in his facial expression.

The Doctor's POV

Oswin and I set off to find any surviving passengers, turned out they were all alive and very frazzled. She called Amy, who called Rory, who called Rose and Mickey, and we agreed to meet up at the main lobby – or the remains of it anyway. "We need to find a way to get out," I told them, and Oswin nodded quickly. "I'll search the system for maps," she said, and Amy stared. "How are you going to do that?" the redhead asked incredulously.

The internal security was Fort Knox, she'd have to hack her way through _every_ digital defence mechanism, and while she was very clever, I doubted any human could get through without a very small (borderline invisible) keystroke logger or a password. She proved me wrong by tearing down timed alarms, triggered spyware, removing password prompts after getting into bio-settings – in the space of half an hour. Just for a map, which she soon located.

We found the nearest door, and promptly tumbled head-first into snow, one by one, what with the ship's artificial gravity no longer affecting us.

Mechanical grinding came out from all around us.

"_IDENTIFY! YOU WILL IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. STATE RACE, FULL NAME, AGE, AND ETHNICITY_."

One by one, they stepped forward to face the Dalek in charge.

"Human, Oswin Eleanor Oswald, twenty-four years old, pure British."

"Hu-human, Amelia Jessica Williams, uh, maiden name Pond? I'm twenty-seven, Scottish. Mostly. I think."

"Human, Rory Arthur Williams, husband to Amelia. Twenty seven years of age, pure British."

"Human... the Doctor, twenty seven, pure Gallifreyan – you know, that little squidge of an island parallel to London? Yeah."

"_AMELIA POND WILL STEP FORTH."_

"No! Don't take my Amel-" Rory started, but was cut off by a cold artificial voice.

_ SHE IS UNDER ARREST FOR GIVING A VAGUE ANSWER TO INTERROGATION."_

_"JOHN SMITH WILL STEP FORTH."_

Oswin's eyes widened at the sound of his name. _It's little wonder he calls himself the Doctor instead_, she mused to herself.

_ HE IS UNDER ARREST FOR LYING ABOUT HIS REAL NAME, UNDERAGE ALCOHOLISM, SERIAL IDENTITY THEFT AND SERIAL MURDER."_

GSP

Oswin lunged at the head Dalek for spouting these atrocities (Alcoholism? Underage, at that? _Ridiculous_), but Rory restrained her tightly. "Let them go," he whispered, "if you try anything, they'll kill you on the spot. We'll find a way to save them later." She looked up at him with teary eyes, so helpless that it broke his heart. "Will we really?" she asked in a tiny voice. "Of course," he replied soothingly, "we never run out on the people we care about."

She found a way to smile as Amy and the Doctor were handcuffed, gagged, and dragged away through the snow.

"Never," she agreed.

That's when it struck her. _Where are Rose and Mickey?_


	5. As Silent As Possible

**_A/N: Wow this story is getting super duper dramaticalness. I love you all btw. _**

GSP

"Oh my God..." Oswin breathed, and a sense of dread pooled low in her stomach.

"What is it, Oswin? What's wrong? Besides, you know, my wife and your boyfriend getting snatched by aliens on a planet yet undiscovered by humans-"

"Shut up, Rory!" Oswin snapped, and unexpected tears stung her eyes. "We left them on the ship! _All of them_!" she cried, and Rory took her hand. "There's... there's no time for that, Oswin. We have to go. Now," he told her in his bravest voice, and they both made their way to the darkened cave mouth.

Rory kept a tight grip on Oswin's hand as they sheltered behind a whitewashed wall, both barely daring to breathe for fear of being heard. She was too frightened to question the contact, but she would never admit to being scared. The Dalek structure was a labyrinthine chaos of sharp turns, false hallways and white-lit corridors, which left even Oswin stuck for navigation. There were no visible computers to hack for maps, not even security cameras to look out for. Oswin questioned the lack of surveillance, and concluded that the alien race she'd only ever heard hearsay of was either very inexperienced with intruders or so advanced that they didn't require the aid of technology. She settled on the latter as a silver-clad woman stopped before them stiffly. Oswin shook her head in disbelief. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Our plot is developing way too fast," she said, mostly to herself. Rory cocked on eyebrow in confusion. "I'm just sayin'," Oswin began, "if this were a story, ours is moving far too quickly for my liking. Who even is that lady? Do you know what? I don't care. I just want my Doctor back." He nodded in agreement. She shot up in realisation.

"What did you call him earlier? When you were being all sarcastic, and-"

"I called him your boyfriend, that's not important right n-"

"Okay. That's nice."

The woman cleared her throat. "If you are finished, humans, John Smith and Amelia Pond await you," she said in a robotic voice that dripped with condescension, and gestured to the hallway on her right. Rory looked at Oswin doubtfully but she tugged at his hand and made for the hallway. He refused to move, and she rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said quietly, cocking her head towards the cold space, "I'm giving you the face." She tilted her head some more, and Rory's lower lip began to stick out as he crossed his arms like an upset child. At the last head jerk he gave in and let Oswin drag him through the corridor, the women in alien dress leading them until they reached a round white room with no windows and two white desks. The Doctor and Amy were nowhere in sight, and Oswin was about to protest when she heard the humanoid woman lock the door. "Um, where are they then, if they aren't here?" he said heatedly. Rory had just about had it with this lady's looking down on them both. Almost as if she could read his thoughts, (_She probably can, _Rory considered silently), the lady gave them a cold smile, and told them emotionlessly, "I lied to you. You will be detained until His Majesty the Emperor Dalek wishes to speak to you. If you attempt to escape, you and your companions will be incinerated on the spot. If you are successful in negotiating with the Emperor and attempt to remove them from our custody, you will all be incinerated immediately." Oswin and Rory exchanged anxious looks. "Unfortunately," the woman continued with the same cold smile, "our areas of imprisonment have become somewhat... _unstable_, after the _Alaska _crash-landed on our planet, so I am obligated to give you both familiarly human technology, however ancient in our eyes, namely: one camera, one black felt-tip marker, and one audio recorder from Earth. You will both be given one only, and if you value your lives, I would advise that you try not to lose them. Please remain as - _silent _- as possible. Thank you for your cooperation." She placed the three items on both of their desks and walked stiffly out of the room, not looking remotely grateful for her job. Oswin flung herself at the woman, but she rammed hard into the white door instead, and melted to the floor in a puddle of agony. There she screamed all variations of profanity after the guide, but whether she could still be heard or not, she was ignored. Rory winced as she cried out in anguish like she was about to cry, and he made considerable effort to not do so himself. In an effort to be less emotional and more logical, her eyes snapped to the devices laid out neatly on the tables, and her eyes widened. Rory noted her body language and followed her gaze. "You know what they're holding here, don't you?" he asked her drily. She nodded and curled her arms up protectively around herself. "I learned about them in uni when I started my Alienology degree. The Silence. "

Rory shook his head in confusion. "The what?"

"The Silence. Once you look away, you forget you saw them. Which means you have to make marks on your arm so that you can see later if you saw any. It's also a good idea to leave a recording of your voi-"

Oswin's recorder beeped. New recording.

Inhaling sharply, she looked down. There were twenty-four black slashes across her arms.


	6. Identical

**_A/N: Fairly terrifying chapter with cute bits. Bit of a cliff-hanger ending, again lol. Enjoy, dears!_**

* * *

"Rory..." Oswin warned, looking up slowly, barely daring to breathe. A legion of Silence stood where he had been standing, and they began to advance towards her, hands outstretched expectantly. She was not in her cell anymore; she was somewhere much worse. She was in the cell where the Daleks kept the Silence who had gone crazy with their aim of bringing justice. Her heart beat faster and faster, until suddenly - it stopped.

* * *

"She better not be flirtin' with my Rory," Amy quipped lightly, struggling against her chains. She and the Doctor were tied back-to-back in a white cell not unlike that of Apalapucia, where the Doctor had so unsuccessfully taken her for her previous birthday. "I don't think the fidelity of your husband is the most important thing right now," he replied somewhat drily.

"Well sorry for trying to brighten things up a bit, Doctor."

"Don't be. They're probably dead by now."

"_What_?"

He sighed against their bindings. "The Daleks are holding many criminals from many races in here. Among them are The Silence. The Silence aren't just an alien race, Amy. They're a religious order," he explained. "Who's to say they want _us _alive, let alone Oswin and Rory? Seriously Amy, they are not to be messed with. Think Ku Klux Klan, Scientology, and Annihilists all smashed into one.

"Oh! That's the one where they're all like, ' "I don't exist, and neither do you" ' right?" she bubbled, and the Doctor smiled a little. "Yeah, that one," he agreed, allowing himself to be cheered by her manner.

"So..." she began brightly after an awkward pause, "John Smith, eh? How _discerning_." The Doctor chuckled and elbowed her lower back playfully.

"Says the _Pond_ about names. You don't even know the difference between a koi pond and a duck pond."

"Oh for the _last time_, Doctor, there is no difference."

They smiled briefly, but were interrupted by a scream from the next cell. It sounded awfully like Oswin.

* * *

Oswin crawled military-style across the floor, tears streaming down her heart-shaped face, hair matted and unable to breathe. The creatures on board the ship terrified her – not only the Silence, also the Daleks whom the Asylum belonged to and _God _knew what else. They were all on the ship for the same reason; they were insane. _So what does that make me?_ she thought bitterly. _We forced that peace treaty onto them, no one said anything about what would happen to those who break it. Not that we could stand a chance anyway. _

Not when the Electrocutions had already begun.

Oswin could easily recall an excerpt she'd written in her thesis for her PhD about their rituals.

_One of the most common methods of torture among the Silence is Electrocution; much alike to shock therapy among medieval Earth patients diagnosed with mental disease, but among the Silence, used as a form of entertainment. They look down upon other races, in particular humanoid races – despite being of a humanoid structure themselves. Often compared to Adolf Hitler in many reference texts, their sole religious aim is to bring death upon those whom it has been decreed upon. It is death to those who escape death; death to those who refuse to bring death upon aforementioned subjects._

_Henceforth, like executions in ancient human history, Electrocutions as a form of punishment are used as a form of entertainment. It is not unusual for the victim to experience moderate agony from electrical currents flowing through the anatomy for hours, maybe days, until fatality has been achieved. They are traditionally held in individual cells with no provisions or company, and are slowly electrocuted to death or go mad and kill themselves first. The latter option is considered an honour to be allowed and is only offered to intergalactic royalty – even so, only after the first hour._

_All Silence are identical. Their goals and achievements are united; their individual wishes and dreams annihilated upon induction. The Silence were not born Silent, rather from all different races and planets, using the same technology to mentally and physically alter themselves to an unrecognisable state. _

_We have found no developed method as of yet in regards to disposing of these occult creatures. _

Identical, and yet, as she'd discovered, some go mad. And if regular Silents were that sadistic, how more so must the mad ones be?

She cried the time away, face down on the floor, ignoring the ants crawling over her as the electricity flowed through her human body, more than enough to cause her stabbing pains and convulsions, but not quite enough to kill her.

The Silence were laughing at her, or at least she thought they were. The sound was more like a grating shriek of delight than a laugh. Laughing as she was reduced to a whimpering, crying mess on the filthy floor of their cell. The same questions paraded around and around in her mind. _Why are you doing this to me? Where are Amy and the Doctor? Where's Rory? Is this real? Am I real? _

The pain stopped, but Oswin only flinched further, expecting the mercy to be over soon, but the door opened and she looked up to see her metal-covered saviour. A Dalek, but not just any Dalek. The Emperor.

She could've cried, but she didn't. Oswin remained silent, body shaking and eyes shut as the Emperor beamed her out of the room and into his court.

The court was absolutely colossal, all white marble with neat allocated standing areas for His Majesty's jury. Rory was seated roughly on his knees on the black square beside hers, trembling slightly in the same manner. The Silence had taken him too; probably saved by the Emperor as well. They hugged briefly, but their reunion was harshly interrupted by the Emperor Dalek's artificial, robotic voice cutting the air in the court.

"So, humans... Why don't you start by telling us why we should let you live?"


	7. NOBODY Dies (Not This Time)

**_A/N: Dang this is getting intense. This chapter gives a chance for everyone's relationships to properly develop rather than that 'the two weeks flew by' thing. Also a bit short, but leaves room for further development._**

* * *

"Why don't _you _start by telling us where the Doctor and Amy are?" retorted Oswin sharply, crossing her arms. If Daleks could laugh, the High Court made that sound together in response. "Oswin, do you not understand?" the Emperor spat bitterly. "We don't have to tell you anything."

Rory cast his gaze to the floor. The sass of the woman beside him was not going to help them get mercy from the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I apologise for my friend here's attitude towards you all. Us humans do in fact respect you as a greatly advanced race – which is why we got you to sign the peace treaty. Because in all honesty, Emperor... we're afraid," he told the court fearfully. The Court buzzed happily, Daleks oscillating slightly in content all around. Rory smiled weakly at Oswin, who had a hopeful brow raised at him. He was getting somewhere.

"We didn't mean to crash on your Asylum. Our ship was headed to your, er, main planet, and it got beamed over here. Still not sure about that. Anyway, if you would please release our friends that would be great, because we've really done nothing wrong and we just wanted to do our jobs. Also, if it's not too much to ask... Could you help us find the other members of the _Alaska_? We've sort of... lost them."

The Emperor drew himself up to full height and deliberated for a moment. Oswin inhaled sharply, realising she'd forgotten to breathe in her anxiety. After what felt like an eternity of robotic discussion and beeps of approval, the Emperor spoke again.

"Very well then. Bring out the humans, including Amelia and John."

Oswin and Rory beamed simultaneously as people flooded the courtroom, rubbing sore wrists with handcuff marks on them. Among the throng were Amy and the Doctor, who ran at breakneck speed to reunite with their respective partners.

"Oswin..." John breathed into her hair. "I don't know if it's a bad time to say, but... I love you."

Her face was graced then by her trademark mischievous smirk. "It's a perfect time to say it. And I love you too, John," she replied, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, the Ponds both sniggering next to them after having done the same. "Oh Doctor," Amy began knowingly, "always doing things backwards." Rory nodded in agreement. "You let us save you before you admitted it," he added in an equally knowing tone. Oswin had a funny feeling that there was something she didn't know about. Amy saw her expression, and said "Oh, well, basically Mr Lovey-Dovey over here has been crushin' on you for the past – hm, I'd say three weeks?" The Doctor turned a high vermillion shade as Oswin raised an eyebrow at him in amusement.

"Well," said the Soufflé Girl, "tell him that his 'crush' is _highly_ reciprocated." She winked as a wobbly smile spread across his face.

But no happy endings were found, as Oswin was seized mid-exit. "Oh, not you," the Emperor spat angrily. "_You_ get to stay here, with us. We've assessed your mind and deemed you fit to be... cleansed. You will join our ranks by morning or they die. Quick, now, I want a new programmer by breakfast." Her eyes widened, as the trio before her turned slowly in unison. "Doctor," she whispered in the tiniest voice she had, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Amy, Rory. You've got to go. Bring the others back to the ship, the mechanics can all work on it overnight, you'll be set to go by morning. Leave me here."

A frown creased John's forehead. "No!" he cried, "I am _not_ losing you again! Not this time!" A dangerously determined tone had entered his voice. "Doctor, she's right, we can all get away in time-" Rory began, but was abruptly cut off by the Doctor's mere expression. "This time," the Doctor continued in a low voice, "_nobody_ dies."


	8. Ready To Deploy

**_A/N: Thanks to themadmanhopes for being pretty much the only person to review my stuff. I got so upset with myself for a while because hardly anyone was reviewing, when I thought 'Hey! Might be a good idea to actually check the views before I assume everyone hates my work' and relief ensued. Thank you everyone for reading, you guys are my motivation. FEEELS CHAPTER LEL. Also let's make the Emperor Dalek more human-y wuman-y and evil because DRAMA. Let's also make the Emperor have hands. This is also the final chapter, epilogue if you wish._**

* * *

****"But... Rory?" Oswin breathed, shocked at how easily he could've abandoned her. "Aren't we... friends?"

Rory looked towards the door, and back at her with a grim expression. The damage had already been done.

The Doctor did something then that nobody expected. He grabbed the Emperor's hands and wrapped them carefully around his head. The alien's eyes widened as a human lifetime's work of research, love, and pain poured into his mind. Not nearly as impressive to him as, say, a Dalek's life, but it was definitely a shock to the Emperor's system. "You see?" the Doctor began cautiously. "It's me you want, Emperor. There's a wealth of knowledge about humans and our lives in here. Just let her go, and it's all yours. All of it. Do whatever you want with my body – just... let Oswin go."

Oswin's eyes went round as saucers and she opened her mouth to protest when Amy squeezed her hand. "Don't," the Scottish woman whispered warningly. Tears spilled from Oswin's big brown doe eyes, but strangely, they weren't for the Doctor. They were for something else, something much scarier than losing the man she had grown to love... If only she could remember.

* * *

Oswin's POV

All I could do then was watch as they took him again so easily. Put him in handcuffs and dragged him across the floor in front of us as he screamed his love at us and told us to run. I would've screamed, except I was rather distracted by the lines upon lines of desperate scratch-marks on his hands. It looked rather like a tally. A tally of about sixty-five strikes altogether.

* * *

The Doctor's POV

Originally I would've found a way to get us all out, but I understand them now. Humans mean nothing to the Daleks, and they take no survivors. Someone had to be sacrificed, and it definitely wasn't going to be Oswin or the Ponds.

I hope she saw my tally. You see, I heard the screaming and figured it was a good idea to record our conversation with the Emperor in case anything happened. Thirteen times I heard Oswin scream. Thirteen sets of tallies.

I can't bring myself to look back at her one last time as the Daleks try in vain to exterminate the Silence that have filled the entire courtroom, only to give and flee, trapping us in here.

* * *

GSP

Rory and Amy shared one last kiss and held hands tightly with eyes shut as the deranged Silence circled them, chanting their death in rhyme and in perfect time. Oswin screamed and fell to her knees as their bodies convulsed in a sick manner, jolting from the electricity flowing through their bodies and frying every last nerve in their systems.

When she opened her eyes, the Doctor was standing beside her silently. They had been teleported outside the court into the main hall, where the Daleks stayed frighteningly still. "Why-" she began, but the Doctor shook his head.

"At least we'll be together," he sighed. "What?!" she cried, "that's not what I was talking about! I was just surprised they saved us, what? You're not... giving up, are you? You always fix things. Every time something broke on the ship, you'd fix it like _that_." She snapped her fingers to prove her point. The Doctor only laughed emptily.

"Oswin... Oswin, Oswin, Oswin, you are so brilliant and so beautiful, you haven't gotten it yet, have you?"

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled darkly. "This is the part," he whispered in reply, "the part of the story where you realise we have to die."

The Daleks beeped angrily as she accidentally stepped backwards in shock. "N – no! This is the part where we live! Where we put our heads together and come up with a fantastic plan that saves us-"

She was abruptly slammed up against the marble wall, her head smacking hard into the polished stone. The Daleks had tired of her refusing to accept her fate. The Doctor did nothing as they did the same to him. "I thought it would work, Oswin," he told her sadly through his haze of agony. "But now, there's just another brain to pick."

They both screamed as their nerves were fried, cutting off any physical feeling through excess of pain. Then their love and concern started to drain, slowly ebbing with their human lives, until at last, all that was left was an ancient, burning resentment for everything, for themselves.

"_Conversion Status of Oswin Eleanor Oswald: Complete. Ready to deploy._"

"_Conversion Status of John Smith: Complete. Ready to deploy._"


End file.
